Old Age and Survivor's Insurance

SSR 60-23. VALUE OF PERSONAL SERVICES RENDERED BY WORKER FOR
CLAIMANT

The value of personal services and care provided personally by one member
of a family to another cannot be included in determining whether or not
the first family member was providing one-half of the support of the
other.

A applied for parent's insurance benefits based on the earnings of his
daughter B. He alleged he had been receiving at least one-half of his
support from B at the time of her death and, therefore, met the support
requirement in section 202(h) of the Social Security Act.

During the year before B's death, A and B had lived together in B's
house; each of them had received $300 in assistance payments from the
Department of Welfare; and B had earned $270 and had provided A with
living quarters valued at $120. The total cash income of $870 was pooled
for their support -- $435 (or half) being attributed to A's support. Due
to A's infirmity, B also rendered personal services and care for her
father that he valued at $1200 for the year. A contended that the total
value of his support should be considered as $1755 ($435 cash maintenance
plus $120 for the value of his room plus $1200 in personal services) and
that B furnished more than half of his support.

Section 202(h) of the Social Security Act provides that a parent of a
fully insured individual who died after 1939 may be entitled to parent's
insurance benefits if, among other conditions, he was receiving at least
one-half of his support from such individual at the time of such
individual's death.

Section 404.332(b) of the Social Security Regulations specifies
that "support includes food, shelter, clothing, ordinary medical expenses,
and other ordinary and customary items of maintenance of the person
supported."

Section 404.332(c) of the Regulations provides that "A person is
receiving at least one-half of his support from another if that other is
making regular contributions, in cash or kind, to such support to the
extent of one-half or more thereof. A person is receiving more than
one-half of his support from another if that other is making such
contributions to such support to the extent of more than one-half thereof.
'Contributions,' as used here, jeans contributions actually provided by
the contributor from his own property or the use thereof, or by the use of
his own credit."

The amount of the contributions in cash and in kind received by A from B
during the year before her death did not amount to one-half of his
support. The total cash income was $870. Dividing this by two gives $435
for each one's support. The value of the room furnished A was $120, making
the total cost of his support $555. One-half of this amount if $227.50.
Since the Welfare Department contributed $300 of A's total support of
$555, B only contributed $255 which is less than one-half of A's
support.

It is a well established principle that the support requirement in the
law is based on an economic relationship. Consequently, findings regarding
support depend upon the existence or non-existence of an actual economic
relationship between the parties. The value of the care normally furnished
personally by one individual to another does not play a significant part
in determining support under the Social Security Act any more than does
the value of the personal services the individual furnishes for himself
play in determining the cost of his own support. It is generally
necessary, then, when determining support, to exclude personal services
unless such services are purchased.

In view of the above reasons, it is held that the personal
services provided by B to A cannot be considered in determining whether B
contributed at least one-half of A's support.

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